Man of Words
by chibiduo
Summary: During the annual Hargreaves family gathering at Cornwall Castle young Cain and Judith Hargreaves bear witness to a mystery.


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Author's Note: There is no mention in the series that I can find of Judith's last name, so I'm making it Hargreaves, having Augusta have married a distant cousin. It also never mentions exactly how far apart in age Cain and Judith are, so I've made them a year and a half apart. This takes place when Judith is 9--almost 10, and Cain is 8.

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Disclaimer: I do not own the Earl Cain Series and it's characters. They belong to the goddess Kaori Yuki.

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**Man of Words**

Judith Hargreaves hopped out of her family's carriage and ran towards the servant's entrance of Cornwall Castle, her thick black hair fanning out behind her. 

"Judith!" her father called after her. She paid him no mind. 

_Where is he?_ she thought, pulling the heavy door open and sprinting inside. 

The Hargreaves family gathered together every year for Christmas. But this year was special; this year it was at Cornwall Castle, which meant her favorite cousin Cain would be there. 

In the sitting room she found her Uncle Alexis talking with other uncle's whose faces she remembered but names she couldn't recall and flung herself into his arms. "Hello, Uncle Alexis," she said beaming, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Alexis was her favorite uncle, and he'd always told her she was his favorite niece. 

"Hello, Judith," he said, returning her kiss. "You get more beautiful every time I see you, so much like your mother. And you're getting so big. Your birthday's coming up soon, is it not?" 

She nodded enthusiastically. "The twenty-eighth of January. I'm turning ten. Oh, you and Cain will come for my birthday, won't you, Uncle Alexis?" 

He smiled at her and gently brushed a stray hair out of her face. "I'm afraid your father doesn't like me or Cain much, and would be very unhappy to have us there," he said softly. 

She shook her head. "I don't care. You have to come, Uncle Alexis! You simply have to come! You and Cain both. You didn't come last year and it was no birthday at all. If you don't come this year I will simply die!" Tears sprung into her eyes. 

He cocked his head to the side, wiping the tears away. "Since you put it that way, Miss Judith, I wouldn't dare miss it for the world." He kissed her on the cheek once more. 

"Judith," a strong voice from the doorway called. "Come here." 

Judith and Alexis both looked towards the voice, where Judith's father and step-mother stood in the doorway. "Father, Mother," she said, "I was greeting Uncle Alexis. He is our gracious host." Judith liked to be smart. 

She looked back at her uncle. "May I go see Cain." 

He nodded slightly, the smile having faded from his face. "He's in his room." 

Removing her coat, she stood. "Here, Father," she said, handing it to him, then skipped past him towards the stairs. 

"Cain," she called, reaching his door and knocking on it. 

The door opened a fraction of an inch, one beautiful golden green eye appearing in the crack. 

Judith quickly hid herself against the wall. 

"Who is it?" 

"You'll have to open the door all the way to find out." 

"That won't work. I know you're Judith." 

She faced the door, frowning. "How'd you know?" she whined. 

"No one does that but you." Cain opened the door wider. "You can come in, but just you." 

"It's just me out here, silly boy." 

Cain said nothing. 

Judith stepped into the room and pushed the door shut behind her. "What are you doing?" 

Cain sat at his desk, a large leather bound book open untop of it. "Reading." 

She came up behind him and glanced down at the print. "The first family of poisonous mushrooms which should be avoided belong to the genus Amanita which produce white spores and white sporeprint.'" She let out an exaggerated sigh. "You read the most boring things, Cain." 

"I don't find it boring at all. We have Amanita mushrooms on the grounds. It's quite useful to know." 

Judith fell back on his bed and stared above at the stark white ceiling. "For you. I like stories. Fairytales and nursery rhymes." 

"Don't know any." 

She sat up quickly. "I know of one you might like." She stood and recited, "'A man of words but not of deeds, is like a garden full of weeds; And when the weeds begin to grow, it's like a garden full of snow; And when the snow begins to fall, it's like a bird upon the wall; And when the bird away does fly, it's like an eagle in the sky; And when the sky begins to roar, it's like a lion at the door; And when the door begins to crack, it's like a stick across your back; And when your back begins to smart, it's like a penknife in your heart; And when your heart begins to bleed, you're dead, and dead, and dead, indeed." 

When she finished Cain had turned his head to face her and had a soft smile on his face. "I do like that one, Judith." 

Judith felt very pleased. It was a rarity for Cain to smile; he was such a sullen little boy. She was happy that _she_ had made him. 

Judith reached over and slammed his book shut. "Come, Cain, let's play outside. When the other cousins get here you know they'll be looking for you and will come straight up here. If you don't want to see anybody else, come outside and play with me." 

The smile left his face. "I'm not allowed outside." 

She shook her head. "Oh, Uncle Alexis won't mind if you're with me. You just tell him it was all my idea and I made you." 

Cain looked unconvinced. 

Judith leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Come. I'll take your book and hide it if you don't." 

He let out a defeated sigh. "Oh, all right. But if I get in trouble it's all you're fault." 

Judith smiled in triumph and took her younger cousin by the hand, leading him down the stairs and out to play.  
  
The outdoors was a dazzling array of white. It covered everything. The ground, the trees, the rocks, the water; everything. Glinting icicles sparkled from the trees, blinding Judith when the sun hit them, reflecting into her eyes. 

"I love winter!" she cried, dancing in the snow. "The white and the cold of it all. It's my favorite season of all. Even spring when the flowers bloom. What's yours, Cain?" 

"Fall," he said simply, digging his heals into the snow. "I like the colors." 

"What's your favorite color? Mine's blue. It matches my eyes. Everyone says I look so pretty in blue." 

"Red, I think." 

Judith stopped and turned to face him. "Why red? I think red is the color of death." 

Cain shook his head vigorously, his green eyes widening with excitement. "It's the color of life. When you're cut your blood bleeds red. It means you're alive." 

"I never thought of it that way." She raised her eyes to the crisp, cloudless white sky. "Everything's white today. I wish we could have snow and a blue sky both." 

Cain pulled his mittened hands into his pockets. "So what do we do now?" 

Judith shrugged and danced towards him. "Oh, I don't know, cousin. Just..." she trailed off, and pushed him down. "Catch me if you can, Cain!" 

Judith burst into a sprint, forcing her way through a tangled web of branches and roots, laughing. 

"Judith! Wait for me!" she heard Cain call. 

"Come and get me!" she cried. 

The two children came to a clearing where Cain finally caught up to his elder cousin and tackled her to the ground. "I got you! I got you! I win." 

"Well what have we here?" came a voice above them. 

"George?" Judith said questioningly, rolling off her cousin into the snow. 

George Smithfield, a distant cousin of theirs, grinned down at them with malice, a cigarette clamped in his mouth. "What were you two doing?" 

"Playing," Cain said innocently. 

George snickered. "That's not what it looked like. What are you two, boyfriend and girlfriend?" 

"No!" Judith cried irritably. "We were playing tag." 

George flicked his cigarette into the snow and smirked. "The sins of the father... I don't have time for this." With a stomp on the butt, he walked away. 

"Mean," Judith muttered, then turned to Cain. "Who cares what he says?" She stood and started back towards the castle, but noticed Cain hadn't gotten up. She glanced back. "What's wrong?" 

"I hate it when people say things like that. They never _say_ anything, they just hint. And I don't know what they're trying to hint at. I hate that." 

Judith knelt down into the snow and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her raven colored hair had fallen out during her run through the woods and it fell into her face now. 

Cain touched a strand gently. "They hint at things like Father killed Mother. And they say things about me and your mother and I don't know what they mean." 

Judith pulled him to his feet. "Let's go back now. It's getting cold."

* * *

Dinner that night was to be a grand affair.

After returning to the castle Judith's step-mother had pulled her upstairs to get ready. But not before being given a scolding for being rude and running off with Cain. Judith paid more attention to picking at the scratch she had received by one of the sharper branches. 

She was bathed, her hair shampooed and dried, and she was put into one of her nicest dresses, with strict orders not to leave the castle. Very boring, in her opinion. 

She had slipped off to find Cain when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "Judith?" 

She turned around. Madeline Russel stood behind her, her blond hair pulled high up on her head and a blond porcelain doll with a matching dress clutched in her arms. "Maddy. Hello. How do you do?" She gave a curtsy. 

Madeline curtsied in response. "Very well, thank you. And you, Judith?" 

"Very well." Judith turned to leave, hoping to get away before Madeline questioned her about... 

"Have you seen Cain?" Madeline asked. "He's not in his room and I don't know where else he'd be. Your father said you were playing with him earlier." 

Judith shrugged. "That was a while ago. I have no idea where he would be now." 

"May I walk with you then?" 

Judith sighed. She wasn't going to be rude. Well, she'd at least _try_ not to be. "Fine." Madeline was a nit. She was nearly nine and she _still_ played with dolls. 

No matter, she was an expert at tuning annoying noises out, such as her parents. "Where's that sister of yours? What's her name, Bibi?" 

Madeline fell into step alongside her and shrugged. "Probably with her mother. I don't care." 

"She's pretty, you're sister. When we all grow up she might even be prettier than you." 

Madeline glared at her and was silent. 

Judith smiled slightly. _That's better,_ she thought. 

They made their way downstairs where their Aunt Katrina ushered them into the parlor, to join the other cousins. Cain was sitting on one sofa talking with Bibi. Judith laughed inwardly at the expression on Madeline's face. She skipped across the room and sat on his other side before Maddy had the chance. "Hello again, dear cousin," she said, placing a kiss on his cheek. 

His cheeks tinged scarlet. "Hello, Judith." 

Madeline sat in a chair near them and soon other cousins joined them, and aunts and uncles came to gawk at them. Judith always hated this part, paying homage to her elders. 

When it was done they assembled in the dining room for dinner, the children having a separate smaller table where Cain sat at it's head. Judith was placed to his left, with their odd half-Japanese cousin Rukia Cromwell on his right. Madeline and Beatrice Russel were seated at the far end of the table. Judith made sure to smile in Maddy's direction. 

Judith pointed towards a pretty blond maid who stood in the shadows among the other servants. "She's George's mother's servant," she whispered. "They never go anywhere without her. There are rumours about her and George. Do you know what I mean?" 

Cain nodded. "Yes, I think so," he whispered back. 

"He made me mad earlier," she continued. "I think we should spy on him." 

Cain smiled slightly and looked down at this plate, poking his food with his fork. "That could be fun."

* * *

The next morning Judith arose early and met Cain downstairs where they were to search for and follow George.

"I saw him head out to the garden," Cain told her. 

They pulled on their jackets and headed outside. 

"You should have followed him," she told him, rushing out. 

"But I wanted to wait for you," Cain said, trying to keep up. 

She smiled and turned to him, her clear blue eyes shining. "Then all is forgiven, dearest cousin. Am I your favorite. You're mine." 

"Of course you are." Cain looked as though she had asked an idiotic question. Judith didn't mind. 

"Let's be off, then." The two linked arms and together went in search of George. 

An hour later saw them coming back to the castle, defeated. Judith sighed. "Are you sure you saw him head towards the gardens?" she asked Cain. 

He nodded. "Positive. I watched him through the window. Maybe he came back a different way." 

She sighed again. "Maybe." She stopped and stomped her foot. "Oh, I'm so aggravated I could hurt him! I wanted to spy on him." She continued towards the house. "What do you do here when no one's around, Cain? When it's just you and Uncle Alexis. Read?" 

"Yes." 

"How boring. I'd kill myself if that was all I could do. A hundred times over," she declared. 

"Well, there are other things to do," he said softly. 

Judith turned to face him. "Like what?" 

He lips tugged upwards slightly, a malicious glint in his eyes. "Explore. There are places here even I've not been." His smile lit up brighter. "I could show you my secret place." 

Judith smiled as well. Now this sounded like it could be fun. "And where is that?" 

Cain glanced down, still smiling. "I can't tell you. It's a secret. I'll show you, though." 

"Very well then." She linked arms with him once more. "Lead the way, Cain." 

He led her by candlelight deep into and under the castle through secret tunnels. Every time she went to ask him where they were going he beckoned her to be silent. He was excited, positively filled with glee at the though of showing her his 'secret place'. Judith's eyes were wide with wonder as they went through the narrow corridors. 

Finally, they emerged from the tunnels into a wide chamber. _The dungeon,_ she thought. 

Setting down the candelabra, Cain rushed in front of her and pulled at an old red velvet curtain, revealing a tall case of shelves littered with bottles of all sorts of colors and shapes, each filled with a different substance. 

"Are these…" she trailed off. 

"Poison!" he declared. "The poisons of the Hargreaves family, which have been passed down for generations. And they're all _mine."_ He smiled and went on. "Even Father doesn't come here. This is _my_ place." 

Cain was different down here, Judith noticed. More boisterous and confident. He reminded her of Uncle Alexis. She was used to her sweet and shy little cousin; she wasn't sure if she liked the change. 

Cain picked one of the bottles off the shelf, it was clear with half a dozen or so dried mushrooms inside it and held it up for Judith's inspection. "These are Amanita mushrooms. Like you read in my book before. They cause cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea. And death within seven days. Quite useful to know, really. Why, with this sample alone could kill at least three people. What do you think of that, Judith?" 

She frowned at him. "I don't think you should be smiling as you say such things. I don't--" 

The sound of footsteps interrupted and the two glanced quickly in the noise's direction. Running after the noise, Judith saw the figure of a man quickly going through the corridor before she lost sight of him. She stopped. "Oh, no!" She turned back towards Cain, who had returned the mushrooms to their position and was replacing the curtain. "That was George!" she cried. "He followed us." 

Cain glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Should we slip some mushrooms into his dinner?" he asked with a smirk. 

"What a horrible thing to say!" she screamed. "How could you even suggest that? I don't like this place at all! Take me back now!" 

His smile faded. "Very well, then." He fixed the curtain one last time and taking the candelabra into his hand, headed towards one of the darker corners. "Let's leave this way, in case George is waiting for us somewhere." 

Judith nodded and followed her younger cousin. 

They made the return trip in silence, finally emerging through a small door that led to a dim hallway. Something caught Judith's eye. She turned and gasped. "Who are they?" she asked, walking towards a large portrait of a family. A mother, a father, and two children; a boy and a girl. 

Cain brought the light closer. "Our parents. Father and Aunt Augusta." 

"My goodness," she whispered, touching the likeness of her mother with her index finger. "They could be us. We look just like them." 

"Yes," Cain agreed, an melancholic glint in his eye. "We do." 

Judith turned away. "Let's go. I've had enough adventure for one day." She walked towards the stairs. 

She stopped when she noticed Cain hadn't moved. He was still staring at the portrait. "Have you ever visited her, Judith?" 

The question startled her. She never ever talked about her real mother. "Twice," she said softly. "And I remember neither time with fondness." 

"I visited her once," he muttered. "She held me and called me her little boy." He turned and without a pause left down the stairs, leaving Judith staring after him.

* * *

Judith could not sleep that night. He mind was plagued by thoughts of the dungeon, Cain's mumblings, and what George would do with the information of the location of the Hargreaves family's legendary poison collection. She could not rest.

She stood, sliding into her slippers so her feet wouldn't have to touch the cold hard floor, and walked to the window. The moon was bright and full. She smiled. Maybe she should go wake up Cain and they could find some snacks in the kitchen and watch the sky. She frowned. No, maybe not. Cain had scared her. Regardless, he was still her favorite cousin. She liked him much _much_ better than she liked either Madeline or Beatrice, she hardly knew Rukia, and the others were all much too younger to have any real fun playing with. Cain was still her favorite cousin. 

Maybe she could get him to say more about what he'd been talking about earlier. He almost always did what she asked. Decided, she went to leave, but her eyes caught sight of two someone's walking in the snow far below. _George…_

"Cain, wake up," she said in a loud whisper as she entered his room. She ran across it quickly and shook him awake. 

"Judith?" he asked and sat up. "What's wrong?" 

"I saw George going into the garden. He was with that maid I pointed out to you at dinner yesterday. Hurry and get up. We're going to follow them." 

Cain was quickly up and robed. The two put on their coats downstairs and proceeded outside towards the gardens, ignoring the cold snow against their ankles. "Which way?" 

"Follow me." 

They found George and the maid sitting with their arms around each other on a bench. 

"Hide," Judith said, pulling Cain with her behind a pine bush. 

"What are they doing?" 

"Kissing." 

"Why? It looks gross." 

"Yes, it does. I don't know why they're doing it." 

The maid broke from the kiss. "When will you tell your mother, George. You promised me you would." 

"Ellen, it's not that simple. I have to find the perfect time to tell her. The shock of it might kill her." 

Ellen turned away from him. "That's your answer for everything, George. But I want action! I'm tired of your words and excuses. If you don't do it, I'll tell her myself!" 

George embraced her. "Ellen, my darling, let's not speak of such unpleasantries on this beautiful night. Let's have our picnic and dine here in the moonlight. I made it just for you, my love." 

She smiled and turned back to him, won over. "For tonight I'll ignore it, but George, tomorrow tell her." 

"I will, my love, I promise." 

The children watched the young lovers dine and becoming bored turned to leave, when George pulled a special item out of his basket. "These are a delicacy," he told his lover. "Imported, but I thought you might enjoy them." 

And she brought the mushrooms to her lips and devoured them. 

From behind a pine bush not ten feet from the young couple two pairs of eyes widened in shock and recognition. 

"Those are," Judith whispered. 

"Amanita mushrooms," Cain finished for her. 

Wordless, the two departed, coming to the unspoken conclusion that they wouldn't repeat the event they had seen to anyone, not even each other.

* * *

The next day the Lady Smithfield's personal servant Ellen became violently ill. Ill to the point that Lady Smithfield had decided to send her home where she could receive medical attention that would not spoil the Christmas ongoings.

Judith found Cain walking alone that afternoon towards the servant quarters. "What are you doing?" 

"I'm going to go see Ellen." 

Judith stopped. "Is she sick because of--" 

"Shh!" Cain cut her off. "You know nothing." He halted, having reached his destination. With a wry smile he pulled a jar slightly out of his jacket, revealing the contents to be several mushrooms. "He didn't steal all of it." 

"Cain, what do you think--" 

"You know nothing, Judith." He stepped into the room, leaving her alone outside. 

She pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear their conversation. She could make out nothing clearly except for a high pitched gasp of shock and horror. 

Cain reemerged minutes later. 

"What did you tell her?" 

Cain shrugged. "Simply that she ought to return George's favor." He opened his jacket, revealing the pocket where the jar of mushrooms had been--and were no longer. 

"Cain…" 

"Let's go play in the gardens together, Judith," he said taking her hand, a bright smile on his face. 

She found herself at a loss for words. 

The two played in the garden until sunset.

* * *

_To my dearest cousin Cain,_

I thought it would interest you to know that our aunt Lady Smithfield's son George Smithfield, and her personal servant, Ellen Malloy, passed away recently. The cause was attributed to an unknown virus. One of the other servants in the Smithfield residence mentioned that George and Ellen were having a passionate love affair and now it is being discussed as a lovers suicide by the voluntary intake of poison. 

But we both know better, don't we, Cain? 

All my love,  
Your darling cousin, Judith.  
On the fifth of January in the year 1888  
  
Fin


End file.
